Olympians represent
New Hampshire ranks 12th for the number of athletes who have participated in a Winter Olympics game on behalf of Team USA, according to a recent report from BeenVerified, a public information website. Four New Hampshire-born athletes are in Beijing right now, which did not change the ranking; prior to this year, 47 state-born athletes have participated in the Winter Olympics. Those athletes have earned 19 medals, making them 9th in the country for total medals, and 8th for gold with six medals, the report said. Top cities by birthplace are Easton (six medals); Hanover, Derry and Salem (three medals); and Concord (two medals).
Score: +1
Comment: The top Olympic sport in New Hampshire, according to the report? Alpine skiing.
Students speaking up, sparking change
Central High School has a new dress code, thanks to senior and Manchester School Board student rep Kellan Barbee, who rewrote the outdated code that had been in effect since the ’80s. According to a report from NHPR, the new code — the first policy in the district authored by a student — allows items that were formally prohibited, like spaghetti straps, tube tops, ripped jeans, do-rags, bonnets and hats, while wearing the hood of a hoodie, see-through clothing and attire displaying messages with profanity and hate speech are still prohibited. The update has been a long time coming, with students asking for it for years; Barbee wrote the new code with other students’ input. For example, he told NHPR, the district wanted to keep the hat ban, but after hearing about homeless peers who didn’t have access to hair products and showers, Barbee made it a priority to get rid of it.
Score: +1
Comment: “My goal is not to impose my own views on dress — on students, on staff, on the district. It is to bring student voices to the table,” Barbee told NHPR.
Because you can’t do this in Florida
Special Olympics New Hampshire is gearing up for its two biggest fundraisers, the Penguin Plunge and the Winni Dip, and for the second year, participants are being asked to take a DIY approach in light of Covid. According to a press release, the theme of this year’s events is “Survivor,” and participants will have “Survivor Packs” delivered to their home, school or office, with items packed into a pail that can be used for do-it-yourself plunging. Penguin Plunge Weekend is Feb. 12 and Feb. 13 and includes the Penguin Plunge, the High School Plunge, Prep School Plunge and the new Middle School Plunge. Winni Dip Weekend is March 12 and March 13 and includes the Law Enforcement Dip, The Winni Dip, High School Dip, Middle School Dip and the MEGA Dip. Participants can register online at sonh.org; all fundraising can be done online, and most participants can meet the fundraising minimums in less than 72 hours, according to the release.
Score: +1
Comment: SONH President and CEO Mary Conroy said that they were pleasantly surprised last year by the turnout and participants’ creativity. “We had everything last year from schools utilizing their local fire departments to help students plunge, to individuals plunging on their own in lots of fun and creative ways,” she said in the release.
Late for love
A Google Trends analysis that looked at searches for “last minute Valentine’s Day gift ideas” shows that New Hampshire ranks 10th in the U.S. for gift-buying procrastination. According to a report from wholesale trade printer 4over, waiting until the last minute seems to be a trend on the East Coast, with New Jersey coming in first and Maryland, Rhode Island, New York and Virginia round out the Top 5, while Connecticut and Massachusetts joined New Hampshire in the Top 10.
Score: -1
Comment: Valentine’s Day is Monday, Feb. 14 — just sayin’.
QOL score: 57
Net change: +2
QOL this week: 59
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].